I’ve been feeling pretty anxious lately, desperate even, thinking about Book 8 / Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (MOBY).

I know the Outlander saga began 21 years ago in 1991, but for me it only began in October 2010; I was spoiled by reading each consecutive book as fast as my little fingers could download them onto my Kindle. I devour MOBY Daily Lines from Diana Gabaldon’s facebook page like they’re Scooby snacks and I want more more more!

I have a lot of questions that need answers, like will Jamie & Claire overcome their immediate-vicinity-challenged relationship? Will they grow old peacefully somewhere or die tragically-but-oh-so-romantically? Will Jem & Roger be reunited with Brianna & Mandy? Will Jenny & Claire rekindle their close friendship? Will Jamie & Willie bond now that he knows Jamie’s his father? What about Ian & Rachel? I hope they get married, poor Ian deserves to be happy. And don’t even get me started on ***MOBY SPOILER (skip ahead 2 lines if you don’t want to see)***Roger turning up @ Lallybroch when Jamie was a little boy!

SO many storylines to tie up and, silly me, I assumed that I’d get all of the answers when MOBY is released sometime in 2013. (I can just hear Herself saying, “Ha! That’s what you think…”)

“I thought that I read on this page that MOBY would be the the last book of this series. Can anyone confirm or deny?” Herself replied: “I deny it categorically. <g> That is–I don’t yet _know_ for sure whether Book 8 (MOBY) is the last or not…but I’m beginning to think there might just be a Book 9.” (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDianaGabaldon/posts/347439301965579)

I don’t even want to consider that Jamie & Claire might NOT manage to live together under the same roof (or at least sky?) yet. And what would this mean for our other favorite characters’ predicaments? I know what it would mean for me: TORTURE. But also: ELATION. As much as I want everything to be wrapped up neatly and Jamie & Claire to have their happy ending, I admit I would like a 9th book a wee bit more.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d probably still whine about how long Book 9 was taking, and how hard it is to wait, but it would be worth it. Oh aye, Jamie Fraser is always, worth the wait, sigh. I need a Jamie fix…

Melissa said,

I’m such a baby, I know I was spoiled with the Kindle & books 1-7 being available already…I often wonder though, how my life might have been different had I ‘known’ about Jamie back then in my twenties lol? I’d probably be living in Scotland…

You are most understandably obsessed! (btw were you the one who wrote on DG’s facebook wall today or yesterday that they had a recent health scare, & first on her mind was not family or friends but will she live to read MOBY? If not, at least you know you’re not alone lol!)

Jan – I too was a bit concerned re Book 8 because of my age. Well, this week I will celebrate my 90th and swear to God that I will refuse to depart till I read Book 9. At the moment I am rereading the Outlander series for at least the 5th time. They always seem fresh to me.

Sharon said,

These are such funny posts! I am so glad and reassured that I am not the only one completely obsessed! (was afraid I was until I found all these blogs and FB!) I am reading the books over AGAIN and also was spoiled since I ordered all the books at once, never having to wait for a new book! I had no idea the books spanned over so many years! Amazing! I seriously am not sure if I can handle reading a death scene of Jamie and Claire-am actually worried about it!

I can’t remember – because when I first read the beloved Outlander series I DEVOURED the books (and I’m a speed reader, which makes it fun to go back again and discover what I’ve missed …), but where is the part where Jamie sees Roger at Lallybroch?

Shelley, it wasn’t in any of the books(1-7), it was in one of Diana Gabaldon’s Daily Lines for MOBY/book(Written in My Own Heart’s Blood); ****MOBY SPOILER/STOP READING THIS IF YOU DON”T WANT TO KNOW*** Roger goes thru the stones to look for Jem, but goes back farther than he thought- Jamie’s father answers the door, introduces himself as Brian his wife is busy w/the bairns or something like that…So it’s possible that Roger’s going to meet Jamie as a little boy…If that intrigues you, you should also read Diana Gabaldon’s short story “A Leaf on the Wind of ALL Hallows” from the book “Songs of Love and Death”- it’s about Roger’s parents : )

K. Lynn Huffman said,

“like they’re Scooby snacks” – lol! I also discovered the series late (in January of this year!), I can’t imagine not having a new book / new Jamie to look forward to 🙂 BUT, he and Claire have to have their HEA (happily ever after) or I WILL need serious psychological counseling!

I’m a little late to this conversation, but I just had to post.
I agree with what everyone’s said. I’m so addicted to these books, they are like my family.I am so glad she thinks there will be a book 9! I don’t mind the wait because it gives me time to speculate over the daily lines… I’m sure all of the current problems will be resolved in MOBY, but that doesnt mean there wont be new cliffhangers at the end we’ll have to ponder while we wait for book 9. Personally I hope they never end, but I know some day they’ll have to.
I also wanted to add that in the MOBY SPOILER
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Roger meets Brian Fraser at Lallybroch alright. However, we don’t KNOW that he meets Jamie as a child. All we know for sure is that Brian tells him- “Welcome, sir. Ye’ll sup wi’ us? The lass has it nearly ready.”-. Which lass? Is he referring to Ellen, (in which case Jamie’s 8 or less & we’ll probably see him) or has Ellen alreay died & he’s referring to Jenny?- if this is the case, we dont know what year it is…Jamie could be home where we can meet him as a child, or he could be a teenager living with Dougal or at Leoch.

Signe said,

I’m a recent crazy also. Doodes…I am now obsessed with the audio books! I swear half of the words I’m saying in my head are no where near right. Don’t even get me started on the French…Anyhoo the reason for my post is that I read somewhere that after MOBY’ there will be Prequals. I don’t even know what that means!

Well, I’ve heard that too; Hmmm, I guess if Jamie & Claire die in MOBY, and Diana has already hinted heavily at Book 9 then Book 9 might be a prequel of sorts, but who knows… I’ve also heard that Master Raymond is getting his own book, and HIS history goes back hundreds(maybe even thousands?) of years, he’s also a time traveler/healer and a distant relative of Claire’s!

Signe said,

Master Raymond aka Frog Man? Holy heck! That is interesting! In my morning commute, I’m listening to ‘Dragonfly in Amber’, I swear that narrator is awesome. Claire had just been poisoned and Master Frog was like ‘sorry, my bad, but you didn’t die, so it’s all good’. Funny to hear those moments. I don’t know if I want to read about him though? Hmmph. I think I’d want to read more about Brainna and Roger. It wouldn’t ever be the same without Jamie and Claire though, ugh.
Secretly, I REALLY want Jamie to be able to travel through the stones to the 1970’s and then they all live happily ever after? Oh, and leave Lord John way back there. Can that be MOBY, please?

Anonymous said,

I have just finished MOBY and my input is this – there better be a book 9! I could hardly believe when I hit my screen to go to the next page that there wasn’t one! I won’t go into specifics since there may be a lot of you out there who haven’t finished this book, but I need to know how? When? And how? Ok so if you haven’t finished MOBY, then my questions may seem odd, but once you HAVE finished, I am sure many will agree that the last few sentences leave desiring a book 9 as well . Plus the bigger questions of everybody (and that’s a lot of people) make it through the rest of the revolutionary war. Do we really have to wait until 2018?